Finnbogi Pétursson: Tesla Tune 2023

The sound installation Tesla Tune 2023 by Icelandic artist Finnbogi Pétursson, prepared for Vasulka Kitchen Brno, is a variation of his work TeslaTune (2007, 2014, 2015), which dealt with the properties of electricity, sound, its frequencies and the possibilities of their transformation in space. Tesla Tune 2023 is dedicated to the legacy of Nikola Tesla, the inventor who championed the introduction of alternating electric current for distribution. The installation itself references the characteristics of electrical currents and explores the existence and transformation of sound in the concrete space of the foyer of the Brno House of Arts. A deep tone with a frequency of 50 Hz, corresponding to the frequency of AC current used in the electrical network in the Czech Republic, is gradually fed through a frequency filter and a programmable switch into each of 8 speakers connected to different length cardboard tubes influencing the resulting sound through their length. Finnbogi Pétursson's work thus brings one of the most commonly encountered waves of modern civilization into the realm of audible sound.

Finnbogi Pétursson was born in 1959 in Reykjavik and is a prominent figure in contemporary Icelandic art. His work spans and connects the worlds of science, art and nature through the exploration of sound, light and their properties, with an emphasis on the energies of the substances themselves, capable of interacting with one another in different environments (air, water, solid materials). His experimental projects usually take the form of spatial installations focusing on the properties of sound and physical materials reflecting his interest in exploring the medium itself and the physical properties of nature. In addition to spatial installations, he also uses radio broadcasts in some of his works, through which he thematizes both broadcast and physical space.

Finnbogi Pétursson is represented by BERG Contemporary and Persons Project, has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions, and represented Iceland at the Venice Biennale in 2001.

The installation will be presented as part of the Brno Museum Night event on May 20th, 2023 at 8:00 pm in the foyer of the House of Arts. The artist will be present.

Curator: Jennifer Helia DeFelice
Coordination & Technical realization: Kryštof Pátra, Tomáš Kelar
Production and PR: Viktória Pardovičová
Education programs: Gajane Achverdjanová
Installation: Radek Čák, Maximilian Felice Helia

The installation is funded by the Statutory City of Brno and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.